Child Abuse Charges against Berlin Waldorf Facility

Peter Tiede,Tagesspiegel, translated By Tom Mellett

July 4, 2008

Child Abuse Suspected at a Waldorf School.

By Peter TiedeJuly 4, 2008

Potsdam --- In a Brandenburg facility for the care of youth, childrenfrom Berlin and Brandenburg are alleged to have been physically abusedand humiliated by the woman in charge of pedagogy. This is reported bythe RBB magazine "Cleartext."

Both the Ministry of Education and the public prosecutor's officeconfirmed yesterday that they will pursue charges against the woman incharge of the Waldorf facility called ÑAlte Zieglerei" [Old Brickyard]or [Old Brick Factory] in R‰del (Potsdam Mittelmark = Potsdam Kreisi.e. district or county).

The public prosecutor's office is making its determination in severalcases against the woman in charge of the Waldorf facility based onsuspicion of her abusing her "wards." In addition, investigators,acting on suspicion of malfeasance, searched the facility onWednesday. 160 document files with financial records of the past fiveyears were seized.

According to the charges, children were said to have had their armspulled behind them, slung around their necks and held there in placeby the accused woman for a long period of time, all the while shewould also be pressing her knee into the smalls of their backs.

Among the institutionalized children living there, theirhands?/wrists? [Griff?] would have to display the name of their housemanager. †In addition, children are said to have been forced to stayovernight, made to sleep on the stone floor in the cellar, alone andwithout mattresses.

The Federation of Rudolf Steiner Schools in Berlin-Brandenburgvehemently denied the charges. According to their present level ofknowledge, the Federation stated that "a conspiracy of disgruntledformer employees" was the source of these accusations. †[Yet] thesecharges had been pursued for months without result. †††